Managing notifications on a curved display surface

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of managing notifications on a curved display surface of a mobile electronic communications device are provided, wherein the curved display surface includes a front screen area and lateral edge screen areas. A notification is obtained and a holding direction of the device is detected. If the holding direction does not allow display of the notification on the lateral edge screen areas, it is displayed on the front screen area. If the holding direction allows display of the notification on the lateral edge screen areas, it is displayed on an uncovered edge screen area facing the user if the user is in a known direction. Otherwise, the notification is displayed on all edge screen areas. If the one or more edge screens are partially covered, the notification is displayed on the edge screen area having the least coverage.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is related generally to mobile electroniccommunications devices and, more particularly, to systems and methodsfor managing notifications associated with a mobile electroniccommunications device having a curved display surface.

BACKGROUND

As the use of portable cellular devices becomes ever more deeplyingrained in society, device makers seek new avenues through which toprovide interesting features to users. This quest has led to deviceshaving interesting functions as well as interesting constructions. As tothe latter, in particular, there have been attempts to interest users indevices having display surfaces that droop or curve down onto thelateral edges of the device. However, to date, such attempts have beenunsuccessful

Before proceeding to the remainder of this disclosure, it should beappreciated that the disclosure may address some or all of theshortcomings listed or implicit in this Background section. However, anysuch benefit is not a limitation on the scope of the disclosedprinciples, or of the attached claims, except to the extent expresslynoted in the claims.

Additionally, the discussions of technology in this Background sectionis reflective of the inventors' own observations, considerations,actions and/or thoughts, and are in no way intended to be, to accuratelycatalog, or to comprehensively summarize any prior art reference orpractice. As such, the inventors expressly disclaim this section asadmitted or assumed prior art. Moreover, the identification orimplication herein of one or more desirable courses of action reflectsthe inventors' own observations and ideas, and should not be assumed toindicate an art-recognized desirability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

While the appended claims set forth the features of the presenttechniques with particularity, these techniques, together with theirobjects and advantages, may be best understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingsof which:

FIG. 1 is a general schematic representation of a mobile electronicdevice in which various embodiments of the disclosed principles may beimplemented;

FIG. 2 is a top cross-sectional view of a device having the componentsshown schematically in FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosed principles;

FIG. 3 is a simplified front view of the device of FIG. 2 when lateraledge screen areas are included in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosed principles;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device of FIG. 2 in the same configurationshown in FIG. 3 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedprinciples;

FIG. 5 is a simplified front view of the device of FIG. 2 when 4 lateraledge screen areas are included in accordance with an embodiment of thedisclosed principles;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the device of FIG. 2 in the same configurationshown in FIG. 5 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedprinciples;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of notification managementwithin a portable electronic device having multiple edge screen areas inaccordance with an embodiment of the disclosed principles;

FIG. 8 shows an array of possible usage scenarios in keeping with theprocess of FIG. 7 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedprinciples;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a process for managing the extension ofdisplayed content onto the edge screen areas of a device in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosed principles;

FIG. 10 shows an array of possible usage scenarios in keeping with theprocess of FIG. 9 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedprinciples;

FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a process for managing notificationswhen a device such as the device of FIG. 2 is placed on a flat surfacesuch as a table top in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedprinciples;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process for managing a flashlightfunction when using edge lighting as an alternative to the device'sregular flashlight in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosedprinciples; and

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process for personalizing a layout ofactionable items on edge screen areas in accordance with an embodimentof the disclosed principles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before presenting a detailed discussion of embodiments of the disclosedprinciples, an overview of certain embodiments is given to aid thereader in understanding the later discussion. As noted above, attemptsto produce commercially acceptable mobile electronic devices with curvedglass have not been successful. It would appear that this failure islargely due to functional issues, and in particular, the lack orappropriate content and behavior handling at the edge portions of thedisplay.

For example, if curved display edges are simply a continuation of thecentral portion of the display, then they become a screen portion thatit is not only more difficult to see but also more easily mishandledwhen the user is holding the device. Similarly, in postures where one ormore edges face away from, or only slightly towards, the user,information shown on such edges may be essentially invisible to theuser. Compounding this factor, and the issue of accidental activation ofedge material, a user's handedness and particular hold will also affectvisibility and handling of edges.

In an embodiment of the disclosed principles, a mobile communicationsdevice such as a cellular phone manages notification via a curveddisplay surface when hand-held by determining a direction in which thedevice is being held relative to the user. Using this information, thedevice is able to determine whether the notification should be displayedon an edge portion of the display or on the front-facing portion of thedisplay. If the notification is to be displayed on an edge portion ofthe display, the device determines which of the multiple edge portionsshould be utilized by determining which edge is covered by the user'shand or palm. If at least one edge is not covered by a hand or palm, thenotification is provided on the uncovered edge.

If both edges (or all edges if there are more than two edge displayportions) are covered by the user's hand or palm, then the devicedetermines which particular areas of the edges are covered and providesthe notification on the edge that is less covered by the user's hand orpalm. The preferred edge for displaying such notifications may bechanged when the user switches the device from one hand to another orchanges the way the device is being held.

In yet another embodiment of the disclosed principles, the mobilecommunications device is configured to selectively operate an edgeflashlight based on user location and device orientation. In particular,in this embodiment, the device includes an ordinary back plane LED(light emitting diode) flashlight which may also be used as a flash forthe device camera. In addition, an edge flashlight is provided using thematerial of the screen itself.

The user may access a menu setting to select which flashlight to turn onin a given situation. However, the user may also turn the flashlightfunction on using a gesture, a spoken command, or other non-menu-basedcommand. In this case, the device is configured to determine whichflashlight to use. To this end, the device determines the direction inwhich the device is being held by the user, e.g., if the back cameraflashlight is facing toward or away from the user.

If the back camera is facing away from the user, as it would when theuser is holding the device vertically in front of their face, the deviceenables the back camera flashlight. However, if the back cameraflashlight is facing toward the user, the device enables the edge screenflashlight.

In this case, however, the device also determines where on the edge togenerate the edge screen flashlight. If the device has two screenededges, the device generates the edge screen flashlight on the edge thatis facing substantially away from the user. If the device has morescreened edges, e.g., 4 such edges, the device may generate the edgescreen flashlight on the two facing substantially away from the user.

In the event that the user switches the device from one hand to another,or otherwise changes the device posture, the decision process may berepeated in order to more appropriately face the flashlight for the newposture. In a further embodiment, the device is configured such that theuser can enable or disable light on one particular edge, e.g., via a UI,gesture, and so on.

In a further embodiment of the disclosed principles, the mobileelectronic communications device is configured to extend the display ofcontent onto the device edge screen areas. To this end, the devicedetermines the type of content being displayed, and whether it issuitable for full screen display on the front and edges of the primaryscreen or on a secondary display. The device then determines if thereare any actionable UI elements (that is, elements such as menus andcontrols that are selectable to cause a further action by the device)that would appear on one or more device edge screen areas when thecontent is extended to cover the edge screen areas. The device alsodetermines whether the user's hand is covering any part of the edgescreen area.

For content determined to be suitable for extension, the device extendsthe content to the edge screen area where no actionable elements wouldbe moved onto an edge and where there is no user hand coverage. By wayof example, the content extension can include, but is not limited to,the scaling of video/image to extend onto edge screen areas, theextension of the UI onto the edge screen area, and so on.

In another embodiment of the disclosed principles, when the device isresting face down on a table or other substantially horizontal surface,the device may employ a proximity sensor and gyroscope, for example, todetermine where to display notifications. Thus, for example, if the useris detected in a certain direction with respect to the device, thedevice displays the notification on the device edge display portion thatis most directly facing the user. If it cannot be determined where theuser is, the device may display the notification on both edges in atwo-edge device, or on all edges in a three- or four-edge device.

In a further embodiment, with respect to the management of notificationswhen the device is face down, the device may be configured to determine,upon detection of proximate persons, if at least one user isauthenticated as the owner of the device. This may be accomplished viavoice identification (e.g., via audio beamforming) and thermal sensors.

In this embodiment, if no identified user is an owner of the device,then the device does not display anything with respect to a receivednotification. If instead, one of the identified persons is authenticatedas the owner of the device, then the device provides a notificationdisplay on an edge visible to the authenticated user. If the device isinstead placed by the user on a table or other surface in a screen-uporientation, the device determine the user's viewing angle and the sidewhich may be covered due to placement on the table and then provides anotification on the side of the device which is being viewed by the userbased on the device position.

In another embodiment, the device is configured to allow personalizationof the layout of virtual sliders, buttons and other actionable UIcomponents with respect to the device edge screen area. To this end, thedevice determines that given the current display, the device has touchenabled display regions in the edge screen area. If the device is beingheld by a user's hand covering part of the edge screen area while aportion of the edge screen area remains uncovered, the devicedetermines, based on the holding position, user's viewing position anduser's hand size, the areas on the uncovered portion of the edge screenarea where the user can most easily tap a thumb or other finger. Thedevice then customizes the layout of one or more actionable UIcomponents in the areas on the uncovered portion of the edge screen areawhere the user can most easily tap. If such a UI component is thentouched, the device completes the action associated with such UIcomponent.

With this overview in mind, and turning now to a more detaileddiscussion in conjunction with the attached figures, the techniques ofthe present disclosure are illustrated as being implemented in or via asuitable device environment. The following device description is basedon embodiments and examples within which or via which the disclosedprinciples may be implemented, and should not be taken as limiting theclaims with regard to alternative embodiments that are not explicitlydescribed herein.

Thus, for example, while FIG. 1 is a simplified electrical schematicdrawing illustrating components of an example mobile electroniccommunications device with respect to which embodiments of the disclosedprinciples may be implemented, it will be appreciated that other devicetypes may be used, including but not limited to laptop computers, tabletcomputers, and so on. It will be appreciated that additional oralternative components may be used in a given implementation dependingupon user preference, component availability, price point and otherconsiderations.

In the illustrated embodiment, the components of the user device 110include a touch sensitive display screen 120 that includes one or moreedge screen areas (e.g., on two lateral edges, top and bottom edges, orsome combination of any of the foregoing). The user device 110 alsoincludes applications (e.g., programs) 130, a processor 140, a memory150, one or more input components 160 such as RF input facilities orwired input facilities, including, for example one or more antennas andassociated circuitry and logic. The antennas and associated circuitrymay support any number of protocols, e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, differentgenerations of cellular service, e.g., 4G, 5G, etc.

The device 110 as illustrated also includes one or more outputcomponents 170 such as RF (radio frequency) or wired output facilities.The RF output facilities may similarly support any number of protocols,e.g., WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular including 5G, etc., and may be the sameas or overlapping with the associated input facilities. It will beappreciated that a single physical input may serve for both transmissionand receipt.

The processor 140 can be a microprocessor, microcomputer,application-specific integrated circuit, or other suitable integratedcircuit. For example, the processor 140 can be implemented via one ormore microprocessors or controllers from any desired family ormanufacturer. Similarly, the memory 150 is a nontransitory media thatmay (but need not) reside on the same integrated circuit as theprocessor 140. Additionally or alternatively, the memory 150 may beaccessed via a network, e.g., via cloud-based storage. The memory 150may include a random access memory (i.e., Synchronous Dynamic RandomAccess Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), RAMBUSDynamic Random Access Memory (RDRM) or any other type of random accessmemory device or system). Additionally or alternatively, the memory 150may include a read-only memory (i.e., a hard drive, flash memory or anyother desired type of memory device).

The information that is stored by the memory 150 can include programcode (e.g., applications 130) associated with one or more operatingsystems or applications as well as informational data, e.g., programparameters, process data, etc. The operating system and applications aretypically implemented via executable instructions stored in anon-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., memory 150) to controlbasic functions of the electronic device 110. Such functions mayinclude, for example, interaction among various internal components andstorage and retrieval of applications and data to and from the memory150.

Further with respect to the applications and modules, these typicallyutilize the operating system to provide more specific functionality,such as file system service and handling of protected and unprotecteddata stored in the memory 150. In an embodiment, modules are softwareagents that include or interact with hardware components such as one ormore sensors, and that manage the device 110's operations andinteractions with respect to the described embodiments.

With respect to informational data, e.g., program parameters and processdata, this non-executable information can be referenced, manipulated, orwritten by the operating system or an application. Such informationaldata can include, for example, data that are preprogrammed into thedevice during manufacture, data that are created by the device or addedby the user, or any of a variety of types of information that areuploaded to, downloaded from, or otherwise accessed at servers or otherdevices with which the device is in communication during its ongoingoperation.

In an embodiment, a screen manager 180 is included to execute some orall of the functions associated with the behaviors described herein withrespect to screen edge area utilization. In an embodiment, a powersupply 190, such as a battery or fuel cell, is included for providingpower to the device 110 and its components. Additionally oralternatively, the device 110 may be externally powered, e.g., by avehicle battery, wall socket or other power source. In the illustratedexample, all or some of the internal components communicate with oneanother by way of one or more shared or dedicated internal communicationlinks 195, such as an internal bus.

In an embodiment, the device 110 is programmed such that the processor140 and memory 150 interact with the other components of the device 110to perform a variety of functions. The processor 140 may include orimplement various modules and execute programs for initiating differentactivities such as launching an application, transferring data andtoggling through various graphical user interface objects (e.g.,toggling through various display icons that are linked to executableapplications). As noted above, the device 110 may include one or moredisplay screens 120. These may include one or both of an integrateddisplay and an external display.

Turning to FIG. 2, this figure is a top cross-sectional view of a device210 having the components shown schematically in FIG. 1 (110). As can beseen, the device 210 includes lens 201 as well as a touch-sensitivescreen 203. The lens 201 covers the touch-sensitive screen 203, whilestill allowing a finger touch on the lens 201 to be sensed by thetouch-sensitive screen 203. The internal components of the device 210are grouped as element 205, including, but not requiring, a camera 211,flash 213 or other element protruding through the back cover 207 of thedevice 210.

The touch-sensitive screen 203 includes primarily a front facing portionas well as one or more edge portions 209. The lens 201 is similarlyconfigured as it overlays the screen 203. Together, the lens 201 anddisplay 203 may be referred to as the display assembly. Since thedisplay assembly is curved at the edges, it is difficult and unnecessaryto define an exact point where the primary display area stops and theedge display area begins. However, in the illustrated embodiment, thenormal rays A, B passing through the 45 degree tangent points of thedisplay assembly are used to define the separation between the primaryor frontal display area and the edge display areas 209. The device 210horizontal plane C is shown for orientation.

FIG. 3 is a simplified front view of the device 210 when 2 lateral edgescreen areas 309 are included. The light lines 315 are virtual, and aresimply included to show a possible delineation between the frontaldisplay area 317 and the lateral edge screen areas 309. FIG. 4 is a sideview of the device 210 in the same configuration shown in FIG. 3.

Similarly, FIG. 5 is a simplified front view of the device 210 when 4lateral edge screen areas 509 are included. The light outline 515 isvirtual, and is included to show a possible delineation between thefrontal display area 517 and the lateral edge screen areas 509. FIG. 6is a side view of the device 210 in the same configuration shown in FIG.5.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of notification managementwithin a portable electronic device having multiple edge screen areassuch as shown in FIGS. 2-6 for example. At stage 701 of the process, thedevice receives or generates a notification to be conveyed to a user ofthe device. The device detects the holding direction (or viewing angle)of the device and at stage 703 determines whether the holding directionallows edge notification (that is, display of the notification on anedge screen area of the device).

If the holding direction does not allow notification in an edge screenarea, for example, where the edge screens are only on two sides and useris holding the phone vertically, the device displays the notification onthe front screen (e.g., in the top or bottom areas).

Otherwise, the process flows to stage 707, wherein the device determineswhether the edge screens are covered, to any extent by the user's handor palm. If the edge screens are not covered, and the user is in a knowndirection (stage 709), the device displays the notification on the edgefacing the user at stage 711. Otherwise, if the user direction is notknown (stage 709), the displays the notification on all edges at stage713.

If at stage 707 it was determined that the edge screen areas werecovered to some extent by the user's hand or palm, then the devicedetermines at stage 715 whether there is coverage on both (all) edges,and if so, determines the relative areas covered at stage 717,displaying the notification on the edge with the least coverage at stage719. If it is instead determined at stage 715 that there is an edge withno coverage, the device displays the notification on that edge at stage721.

An array 800 of possible usage scenarios stemming from the process 700is shown in FIG. 8. The black bar by the device in each scenarioindicates the edge or edge area used to provide the notificationvisually to the user. As can be seen, the disclosed technique of basingnotification area on holding orientation, hand/palm coverage and userviewing direction enhances the user's edgeless experience with thecurved display, reduces false touch on the edge screen areas and allowsmore effective better notification to the user by more effectively usingthe edge screen areas.

As noted above, in another embodiment, the device is configured toefficiently and selectively extend content onto the edge screen areas ofthe device (e.g., areas 509 of FIG. 5). In general, for contentdetermined to be suitable for extension, the device extends the contentto the edge screen area where there are no actionable elements on anedge and where there is no user hand coverage on an edge. By way ofexample, the content extension can include, but is not limited to, thescaling of video/image to extend onto edge screen areas, the extensionof the UI onto the edge screen area, and so on.

Turning to a more detailed example, FIG. 9 shows a flow chart of aprocess 900 for managing the extension of displayed content onto theedge screen areas of the device 210. At stage 901 of the process 900,the device determines that there is content to be displayed to the user.

The device then determines at stage 903 whether the content is suitablefor extension onto the edges. Content suitable to extend to the edgescreen areas can be videos, images etc. to provide an edgelessexperience. For example, when a user views YOUTUBE in a full screenmode, the video material may extend to the edge screen areas. However,some content is less suitable for edge screen extension. For example,for a user browsing the web or reading an e-book, text that goes ontothe edge screen areas would become harder to read.

If it is determined that the content is not suitable for extension ontothe edges, then the device skips content extension at stage 907.Otherwise, the process 900 flows to stage 905, wherein it determineswhether extension would conflict with actionable elements on the deviceedges. If so, the device again terminates content extension at stage907. Otherwise, the process 900 flows to stage 909, wherein the devicedetermines whether the user's hand covers the edges. If the user's handis determined to be covering the edges, the device again terminatescontent extension at stage 907. Otherwise, the process flows to stage911, wherein the content to be displayed is extended to the device edges(edge screen areas). In this way, the device 210 is able to deliverenhanced user edgeless experience, better UI and reduced false touchesin edge regions by basing extension on content suitability, UIactionable elements and hand interference.

In a further embodiment of the described principles, the device isconfigured to efficiently and effectively convey notifications when thedevice 210 has been placed face down on a flat surface such as a tabletop. The notifications may include new notifications, timed alarms,calls and emergency messages. In an embodiment, the user may mute,snooze (delay) or silence (dismiss) such notifications with an edgegesture without having to flip the device and indeed without necessarilyeven touching the device. In an embodiment, when the device screen is onor the device is face up, ANDROID standard (notifications, full screenintent) or PEEK DISPLAY notification is used instead of edge screenlighting indicators.

Turning to FIG. 11, this figure shows a flow chart of a process 1100 formanaging notifications when a device such as device 210 is placed on aflat surface such as a table top. At stage 1101, the device detects orgenerates a notification to be conveyed to user. The device thendetermines at stage 1103 whether the device is face down on the surface.In the event that the device is not face down, the device shows thenotification on the full screen or in PEEK DISPLAY mode for Androiddevices at stage 1105.

Otherwise, the process 1100 flows to stage 1107, wherein the devicedetermines if a user has been identified in a particular edge direction.If no such user has been identified, the process flows to stage 1111wherein the device skips display of the notification. Otherwise, theprocess flows to stage 1109 to determine if the identified user is theauthenticated owner, for example using back cameras for facerecognition. If so, the device shows the notification on the edge screenregion visible to the user. Otherwise, the device again skips display ofthe notification at stage 1111.

As noted above, a typical camera flash flashlight requires the user tohold the device in an unnatural manner, however, having the devicescreen extended onto the device edges allows the alternative use of edgelighting for flashlight purposes. In an associated embodiment of thedisclosed principles, the mobile communications device is configured toselectively operate an edge flashlight based on user location and deviceorientation. In particular, in this embodiment, the device includes anordinary back plane LED flashlight which may also be used as a flash forthe device camera. In addition, an edge flashlight is provided using thematerial of the screen itself.

The user may access a menu setting to select which flashlight to turn onin a given situation. However, the user may also turn the flashlightfunction on using a gesture, a spoken command, or other non-menu-basedcommand. In this case, the device is configured to determine whichflashlight to use. To this end, the device determines the direction inwhich the device is being held by the user, e.g., if the back cameraflashlight is facing toward or away from the user.

The flow chart of FIG. 12 shows a process 1200 for managing theflashlight function when using edge lighting as a possible alternativeto the device's regular flashlight. At stage 1201 of the process 1200,the device detects that the user has turned on the device flashlightfunction, either by menu selection or gesture. The device thendetermines at stage 1203 whether the back flash is facing toward theuser (e.g., such that the flash itself would be directly visible to theuser). If it is determined that the back flash is not facing the user,then the device turns on the back flash light at stage 1205.

Otherwise, the process flows to stage 1207, wherein the device enables aflashlight on the screen edge facing away from the user. While the edgelighting is on in this manner, the device detects at stage 1209 whetherthe user has switched hands for holding the device, and if so, thedevice enables a flashlight on the new screen edge facing away from theuser at stage 1211. Otherwise, the process loops back to stage 1207 tocontinue with the currently lit edge.

In an embodiment, with the device display potentially extending onto thedevice edges, the device may modify the edge portions of the display toplace virtual actionable elements in locations appropriate to the user'shold and hand size. For example, when the user is holding the device, heor she can double tap the edge in a specific area to launch a specificshortcut. As another example, when the user is using the camera andholding the phone in a landscape orientation, he or she may be able totap on the right or left screen edge area to take a picture. Similarly,when the user is playing a game and holding the phone in a landscapeorientation, he/she may be able to tap on the left or right screen edgefor a left/right control, e.g., to or shoot. In an embodiment, to avoidfalse touch detection, virtual buttons on edge screen areas are onlyenabled for certain applications or systems.

The device may thus personalize the layout of actionable items on edgescreen areas. In an embodiment, this entails determining that the devicehas touch enabled display regions on one or more edges as a continuationof the primary display or as a secondary display and determining thatthe device is being held by a user's hand covering part of the edgeswhile a portion of the edge remains uncovered. Based on the holdingposition, the user's viewing position and the user's hand size, thepotential uncovered areas/regions in the edge screen sections aredetermined as places where a user can easily tap by thumb or otherfinger. The device then provides a personalize layout of actionableelements in the regions just identified and completes the actionassociated with such virtual buttons.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart of a process 1300 for personalizing the layoutof actionable items on edge screen areas. At stage 1301 of the process1300, the device detects that the user has opened an application, and atstage 1303, determines whether the application supports personalizededge UI and buttons.

If the application does not support personalized edge UI and buttons,then the process 1300 flows to stage 1305, wherein the device usesdefault UI placements and does not employ personalized edge UI.Otherwise, if the application does support personalized edge UI andbuttons, the process 1300 flows from stage 1303 to stage 1307, whereinthe device determine the hand/palm coverage area on the screen includingthe edge screen areas. The device uses this coverage determination atstage 1309 to estimate the user's hand and palm size. Finally at stage1311, the device provides a customized layout of tap buttons and otherUI components in the uncovered edge screen areas based on the determinedhand and palm size.

It will be appreciated that a similar process would be followed forvirtual buttons applicable at a system level, independent of a specificapp. Such buttons can be shown irrespective of which app is open, aslong as device display is on and user is holding the phone.

It will be appreciated that various systems and processes have beendisclosed herein. However, in view of the many possible embodiments towhich the principles of the present disclosure may be applied, it shouldbe recognized that the embodiments described herein with respect to thedrawing figures are meant to be illustrative only and should not betaken as limiting the scope of the claims. Therefore, the techniques asdescribed herein contemplate all such embodiments as may come within thescope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.

1. A method of managing notifications on a curved display surface of amobile electronic communications device, wherein the curved displaysurface includes a front screen area and one or more lateral edge screenareas, the method comprising: obtaining a notification to be conveyed toa user of the device via the curved display surface; detecting a holdingdirection of the device; determining whether the holding directionallows display of at least a part of the notification on the one or morelateral edge screen areas; displaying the notification on the frontscreen area if the holding direction does not allow display of at leasta part of the notification on the one or more lateral edge screen areas;determining whether the edge screens are covered if the holdingdirection allows display of at least a part of the notification on theone or more lateral edge screen areas, displaying the notification on anedge screen area facing the user if the one or more edge screens are notcovered and the user is in a known direction and displaying thenotification on all edge screen areas if the user is not in a knowndirection; and determining areas covered if the one or more edge screensare partially covered, and displaying the notification on the edgescreen area having the least coverage.
 2. The method according to claim1, wherein obtaining a notification to be conveyed to the user of thedevice via the curved display surface comprises one of receiving thenotification and generating the notification.
 3. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the notification is based one of or more of a timedalarm, a call and an emergency notification.
 4. The method according toclaim 3, further comprising receiving a user gesture associated with anedge screen area and in response performing an action that is one ofmuting the notification, snoozing the notification and dismissing thenotification.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein detecting aholding direction of the device comprises detecting a user viewing anglerelative to the device.
 6. The method according to claim 1, whereindisplaying the notification on the front screen area comprisesdisplaying the notification in one or both of a top screen area and abottom screen area.
 7. The method according to claim 1, whereindetermining whether the edge screens are covered comprises determiningwhether the edge screens are covered by the user's hand or palm.
 8. Amobile electronic communications device comprising: a curved displaysurface having a front screen area and one or more lateral edge screenareas; and a processor configured to: obtain a notification to beconveyed to a user of the device via the curved display surface; detecta holding direction of the device; determine whether the holdingdirection allows display of at least a part of the notification on theone or more lateral edge screen areas; display the notification on thefront screen area if the holding direction does not allow display of atleast a part of the notification on the one or more lateral edge screenareas; determine whether the edge screens are covered if the holdingdirection allows display of at least a part of the notification on theone or more lateral edge screen areas, display the notification on anedge screen area facing the user if the one or more edge screens are notcovered and the user is in a known direction and display thenotification on all edge screen areas if the user is not in a knowndirection; and determine areas covered if the one or more edge screensare partially covered, and display the notification on the edge screenarea having the least coverage.
 9. The mobile electronic communicationsdevice according to claim 8, wherein the processor is further configuredto obtain the notification by one of receiving the notification andgenerating the notification.
 10. The mobile electronic communicationsdevice according to claim 8, wherein the notification is based one of ormore of a timed alarm, a call and an emergency notification.
 11. Themobile electronic communications device according to claim 10, whereinthe processor is further configured to receive a user gesture associatedwith an edge screen area and in response perform an action that is oneof muting the notification, snoozing the notification and dismissing thenotification.
 12. The mobile electronic communications device accordingto claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to detect aholding direction of the device by detecting a user viewing anglerelative to the device.
 13. The mobile electronic communications deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured todisplay the notification on the front screen area by displaying thenotification in one or both of a top screen area and a bottom screenarea.
 14. The mobile electronic communications device according to claim8, wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether theedge screens are covered by determining whether the edge screens arecovered by the user's hand or palm. 15-20. (canceled)